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A powerful blast rocked a residential building in the northern city of Tripoli in Lebanon, killing at least one person and injuring six others.

At least one person was killed and six injured on Saturday in a powerful blast that shook a six-storey residential building in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a security official told AFP.

"One man died in the blast and six were wounded, most of them women and children," the official said as rescuers evacuated victims from the site of the blast in the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tebbaneh.

Residents, some of them still in their pyjamas, could be seen fleeing the area that has been the scene of fierce sectarian clashes.

One woman wept as she searched for her daughter.

The first floor with four apartments was destroyed by the blast along with several stores located on the ground floor. Cars parked nearby were also damaged.

Army troops and police could be seen deploying in the area.

Residents of Bab al-Tebbaneh who support the Western-backed majority in parliament have clashed repeatedly with Alawites loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran.

Alawites are a secretive offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs. Their neighborhood in Tripoli is located right opposite Bab al-Tebbaneh.

Nine people were killed and some 45 injured in clashes between the two sides last Sunday and Monday.